last monday of the year, december 31st. yesterday was so blustery. >> the wind was really strong yesterday. but a little calmer, much more calm today. >> a lot. >> veronica johnson is here with the good vibes. >> exactly. for sure a lot calmer. even though it's starting out cold this morning, we'll have a pretty nice afternoon coming your way. here's what's going on. mostly clear skies right now. more clouds are pushing through our area. partly cloudy for today. a lot of high clouds, if you will. today we get filtered sunshine for the good part of the afternoon. by evening, we'll turn mostly cloudy. as a little weak weather system slides down to our south. it's going to produce sprinkles and maybe even a sprinkle or flurry through the day tomorrow. for your current conditions, we're at 30 degrees. the windchill at 22. that wind is starting to step up a bit out of the southwest. it's at 8 miles per hour. so we've got dry air. we've got cold air right now. quick look at your forecast hour

by hour. 11:00 a.m., 39. 46 degrees by 3:00 p.m. today. alexis, not looking like a bad day at all for us. >> it's not, veronica. the roadways are looking really good too for this new year's eve. no incidents reported traveling on the beltways. we still have that accident on northbound 28. sully road where a tractor-trailer is blocking the three right lanes. you can get by to the left there. here's a live look at vdot. traveling elsewhere on the roadways, 95 northbound is clear and incident-free as you travel from dale city up to the springfield milling ton interchange. a live look at 95 north of the occoquan where travel speeds are ten minutes up to the beltway. erika? thanks a lot. the washington redskins, you'll be hearing a lot from them this week. they're in the playoffs. they clinched the nfc title last night by beating the boys in blue. the cowboys 28-18 last night.

it was the 'skins seventh straight win after starting the season 3-6. redskins fans have been waiting five years to see their team in the post-season. a couple of guys who were still in high school during the last playoff appearance are to thank. our dan hellie caught up with robert griffin, iii and alfred morris. >> i believe it was terrell owens that once said, get your popcorn ready because the redskins are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. they got there as the nfc east champions. first division title since 1999. they will be hosting a home playoff game next sunday taking on the seattle seahawks at 4:30. they got there not because of rg3 but because of the other rookie, alfred morris. he had the best game of his career. 33 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns. we caught up with both of the redskins sensational rookies

after their big win. >> i really wanted to just win as a team. redskins haven't been to the playoffs in quite some time. to get back here, as a rookie to help contribute to our success is an amazing feeling especially coming from where i came from. i'm thankful to be here and thankful we got the win. >> it isn't often you get upstaged by another rookie. but i'm pretty sure you were okay with it. >> it was awesome. it makes my job a lot easier. all they asked me to do is open up a few other holes with the zone read. i got my five, six yards here and there and threw when i needed to throw. that's all that matters. i'm all for it. >> the good news is they're in the playoffs. the bad news, they're playing one of the most dangerous teams in the nfl. the seahawks very much like the 'skins. a sensational rookie quarterback in russell wilson. an outstanding running back in marshawn lynch and a defense that is one of the best in pro football. going to be a heck of a game

come sunday. from fedex field, dan hellie, news 4 sports. so the 'skins have plenty of time to worry about next week's game. for now, they're still giddy over last night's win. >> 14 years, one guy rg3. making a huge difference. awesome for the city. so excited. d.c. is alive. a great time right here. >> it's time. we know we're going do it. we got a quarterback, we got a team, baby. we are in the playoffs, baby. redskins, baby! . we are in the playoffs, yeah baby! >> half the time you can't understand what they were sayingment you can feel the excitement. more than 82,000 fans packed fedex field for last night's game. that was the largest home crowd of the season. the countdown is on. we are less than 24 hours before the fiscal cliff deadline. congress is reportedly inching closer toward a deal. the house will reconvene at 9:00 this morning, the senate returns to capitol hill at 11:00 a.m. talks hit a standstill yesterday

after senate republican leader mitch mcconnell o proposed social security cut. democrats rejected the plan. aides say lawmakers reached a compromise on key issues like taxes for wealthier americans. meantime, vice president joe biden has taken over as lead sn negotiator for the democrats. if a deal is not reached by midnight, 2 million people without jobs will not get unemployment insurance starting tomorrow. sharp cuts in defense spending will begin to kick in on january 2nd. if nothing else, it looks like there will be a deal to keep the price of milk from skyrocketing the leaders in both parties agreed to a one year extension to the 2008 farm bill that x pierd in october. the deal will avert a spike in milk prices to as much as $8 a gallon. the plan has to be put to a vote in the house and senate sometime today. today hundreds of thousands of revelers will bring in the new year in the big apple. the eyes of the world focus on

the celebration happening today in times square. organizers have been planning all year for the ball drop. nbc's wendy gillette is live in times square with the growing excitement. good morning, wendy. >> reporter: good morning, erika. as you can see, it's very quiet here in times square. the traffic is still flowing. we're at 48th street and 7th avenue standing next to one of the many barricades here in times square that will be used to control the crowds that start showing up in a couple of hours. this year, will crowds will see something different. the crystal ball will have 288 new panels. they'll be adorned with doves befitting of the theme this year, let there be peace. there will be one engraved in the name of dick clark. of course the late host died in april. he hosted his new year's eve show here in times square since 1974. a part of him will be here in times square when the ball drops. a lot of the things, though, that they will see are of course the same.

the 2,000 pounds of confetti. this is something i learned this year. all of that confetti is dropped by hand from buildings on to the revelers at midnight. i was there last year. it was incredible just the most magnificent sight as all of that confetti rained down on everyone here. last year, very nice temperatures. it was in the 50s. this year, definitely not the same. it's going to be around freezing. i can tell you right now after standing out here for an hour, it's pretty cold. i really feel for the people waiting ten, 11 hours. i went down past the area where people generally start gathering at this time. no one here yet. maybe because of the temperatures. last year there were people here at this time. i'm sure they'll start showing up here in just the next couple of hours or so. they're going to have to be dressed extremely warm. it is very cold out here. erika? >> wendy, thank you so much and happy new year to you. time right now is 5:07.

>> targeting americans abroad. the new threat from al qaeda in yemen. an update on hillary clinton's condition after a health scare lands her in the hospital. plus, ringing in the new year with a big announcement. what the future holds for reality star kim kardashian. bundle up if you're getting ready to head out this morning. it's cold. what to expect as we head into the new year with weather and traffic on the 1s when we return.

the rapper made the announce the last night in atlantic city that his girl friend is pregnant. they started dating in march. she's believed to be 12 weeks pregnant. she married kris humphries in august of 2011 and an fyi, their divorce is not yet final. >> it is tough to keep up with the kardashians. always something going on with them. >> i woke up this morning. it was pleasant to see twitter exploding about hail to the redskins # -- and under that kanye and kim kardashian pregnant. oh, my, it's going to be an interesting day.

time is 5:11. time to get a check of weather and traffic on the 1s. vj sm. >> something more normal. as far as the weather goes, it's a cold one this morning. 21 degrees in manassas right now. 27 in reston. 25 in an on daily. columbia, maryland, 27 degrees. good morning to you in howard county. we're going to see cloud cover today. high clouds rolling in. 39 by noontime. and your highs, your temps today, low and mid 40s across the area. but again, with plenty of cloud cover and that cloud cover eventually by late today. by the evening and as we hit midnight. may even produce a sprinkle or two. 37 diegs degrees the temperature at midnight. that really isn't bad. look back at last year. that is comparable to last year at the stroke of midnight. a look at the four-day forecast. tomorrow, a 50% chance of a sprinkle or passing flurry. the high 42. after tomorrow, it really starts

to get cold with highs wednesday, thursday, even friday around 36 to 38 degrees. let's go to alexis now with first 4 traffic. good morning veronica and everyone. the roads are looking good. no incidents reported. we still have that accident out on northbound 28. a tractor-trailer blocking three right lanes. getting by to the left here. as you take a live look at vdot. elsewhere on the roadways, 395 is looking good in both directions. no incidents reported there. here is a live look there at the 14th street bridge. your travel speed from the beltway to the 14th street bridge is going to run you about 12 minutes. richard and erika. new developments involving the deadly attack on americans in libya. what we are learning about the investigation. also ahead, big changes in 2013. the item you'll be turning the lights off on

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breaking news. a parked car bomb killed at least three people and wounded 21 south of baghdad. the explosion took place in a busy street in the southern city of ha la. iraqi police say some shiite were the victims. they were there to mark the death of the prophet muhammad's grandson. they are some of the prime targets for sunni extremists. al qaeda is offering a bounty of $23,000 to anyone who kills the u.s. ambassador to yemen. the terrorist group is offering money to who -- the offer is valid for six months. it's posted on a website with ties to the al qaeda branch in yemen. the country is a u.s. ally but is struggling to unify the army and re-establish order. a new report criticizing the state department for response to

the u.s. consulate attack in benghazi, libya. nbc news obtained an advance copy. the committee finds that bad security allowed militants to essentially walk into the compound. the report criticizes the state department for failing to sufficiently respond to requests for additional security. now to a developing story out of new york. we're waiting to learn more about secretary of state hillary clinton's condition this morning. she's in the hospital where doctors are treating her for a blood clot. they discovered it yesterday during a follow-up exam for the concussion she suffered earlier this month. clinton hit her head when she fell while recovering from a stomach virus. her spokesman says doctors are treating her with anticoagula s anticoagulants. there's word that hugo chavez is dealing with new complications as he tense his battle with pelvic cancer. the country's vice president say doctors in cuba are treating chavez for a respiratory condition. he underwent surgery nearly three weeks ago, his fourth

procedure since being diagnosed with the illness more than a year and a half ago. the vice president says chavez is facing a quote-unquote difficult situation. the bod i have the man who opened fire inside a connecticut elementary school has been claimed for burial. someone who wished to remain anonymous claimed the remains of 20-year-old adam lanza. lanza shot and killed his mother and then killed 20 first graders and six adults and then killed himself. a private funeral has been held for lanza's mother. since the deadly shootings in connecticut earlier this month, the debate on gun control escalated from a simmer to a boil. hours after the shooting, president obama pledged to do something about gun laws to prevent a similar incident from happening. yesterday in an exclusive sit-down on nbc's meet the press, the president continued to keep that promise. >> with public opinion, there's nothing you can't do. and without public opinion, there's very little you can get done in this town.

so i'm going to be putting forward a package. i'm going to be putting my full weight behind it. i'm going to be making an argument to the american people about why this is important and why we have to do everything we can to make sure that something like what happened at sandy hook elementary does not happen again. >> the president called the day of the shooting the worst day of his presidency. in new york, thousands came out in tribute of two firefighters killed during a christmas eve ambush. the flag-draped casket carrying volunteer firefighter michael chiapperini were brought into a high school auditorium in webster. chiapperini was one of two firefighters killed during an attack in which a man set his house on fire and then shot several responding firefighters. his fallen colleague, t tomas c jouk a -- coe zow ka was also laid to rest. a bus crashed down a

guardrail and down an embankment in oregon. more than 20 others had to be taken to the hospital. the bus crash was the second deadly accident along the same highway in the same day. the woman who police say admitted to pushing a man into an on coming new york subway train will undergo a psychiatric examination. she's charged with murder as a hate crime for pushing an indian native to his death. menendez reportedly ladd so hard during her arraignment, the judge told her attorney to quiet her down. she blames the hindus and muslims for the september 11th attacks. a lot of the northeast got slammed this weekend with snow. from the ohio valley up to new england. many saw as much as a foot of snow. it made for some really tricky holiday weekend travel. in massachusetts, crews grabbed shovels and did their best to clear out the gillette stadium in time for yesterday's football

game. none of that here. but just so windy. you notice v.j., we were talking about this earlier. your skin, i don't know about you, you dry out, you crack. >> no, i'm good. >> okay. veronica johnson, you know what i'm talking about. >> i do. he's just being a guy. they don't really care. do they? >> no. >> i guess some do. outside right now again as erika said, it's cold. but look at how dry the air is. of course, that's what helps to dry our skin out more, especially when you look at the humidity inside your house. very dry. dew point temperature at 20 degrees. relative humidity at 66%. we're at 30 right now. southwest wind at 8. 22 degrees the current windchill reading. i've got to go outside in an hour here. today, we'll see a weather system start to push our way. as it does so, clouds will start to increase. the precipitation at about 1:00, 2:00 today will be around ohio,

areas of western west virginia. but then by the time we get to 10:00, 10:00 p.m. this evening at midnight, more cloud cover, possibility of a sprinkle, maybe even a flurry western maryland. may be flurries around the maryland, pennsylvania border as we get closer to midnight. same deal for tomorrow. that system still easing its way eastward. once it moves through, it's going to get plenty cold around here for wednesday, thursday and friday. look at the temperatures right now. 17 degrees currently in minneapolis, minnesota. 14 denver. 18 boise, idaho. all that cold air will start funneling to the south and east. forecast for the morning, 28 to 34 degrees. sun is up today at 7:27. increasing clouds, we'll hit a high today between 41 and 46 degrees. if you are going to be going out for any festivities, tonight this evening, your new year's eve forecast, 34 to 39 degrees. i'll say cheers early for you. here's a look at that cold air that moves in for wednesday, thursday, friday. high again only 36 to about 39

degrees. the weekend, though, is quiet. that's good news for a lot of people. alexis? >> thank you, veronica. looking at the roadways, we've got no incidents reported as you travel around the beltway. we still have that accident out in chantilly. northbound 28, a tractor-trailer there blocking three right lanes on sully road. taking a look live at the vdot camera, tow trucks arrived on the scene. you're getting by to the left. elsewhere on the roadways, route 50 is looking good traveling from annapolis into the beltway. here's a live look at landover road here where the westbound lanes are on the right. six-minute travel speed traveling from the beltway to the bw parkway. richard, erika. thanks, so much, alexis. you may want to start off the new year with a lucky charm. hundreds of people bought luck charms at a market in mexico city. the market is a popular place this time of year. you can buy almost anything from a small toy lamb to red and yellow undies.

red symbolizes love and yellow is thought to attract money and wealth. >> today you can celebrate the new year at the first night celebration in alexandria. the party starts at noon. there's fun for the family. more than 100 indoor performances are set to happen throughout old town. kids can make a kite or decorate some cookies. the night will end with fireworks, of course. the cost is $20 for the first night bash. coming up in 30 minutes, new zealand will celebrate 2013. at 8:00 a.m., sidney, australia will bring in the new year. revelers set up camp on the shores of the harbor. more than a million people are expected to see the display at the sydney harbor bridge. at 11:00 hong kong will celebrate with the biggest fireworks display ever for that country. they spent $1.6 million on those fireworks this year. starting tomorrow, we'll have new light bulbs. companies can no longer make or import the 75-watt incandescent

light bulb in the u.s. retailers can still sell remaining stock in their stores. but there's a green reason behind turning the lights off on the 75-watt incandescent bulb. >> 90% of the energy that the bulb generates is wasted. so what they replace them with are much more energy efficient bulbs that are just as bright and just as good and will actually save you money over the long run. >> traditional 60 and 40-watt bulbs will go away in 2014. you can buy compact fluorescent light bulbs or led bulbs instead. 31 degrees now at 5:26. coming up, the clock is ticking. where negotiations stand at this hour as congress tries to avoid going off that fiscal cliff. plus, what fans are saying had morning about the redskins playoff chances after the team's big win over the cowboys. we are waking up to temperatures in the 20s for

parts of the d.c. area. we'll look at what you can expect as you prepare to ring in the new year. we've got weather an

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now from the leading news station, this is news4 today. looking at the stories

making headlines right now. negotiations resume this morning on capitol hill as lawmakers try to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. >> secretary of state hillary clinton remains in a new york hospital this morning so doctors can treat her for a blood clot. >> redskins fans get a chance to buy playoff ticket later this morning after the team's big win over the cowboys. we'll have much more on the stories throughout the morning. good morning everyone. i'm erika gonzalez. >> i'm richard jordan. eun yang and aaron gilchrist are off today. many public transit agencies are running on modified schedules today. metro rail will stay open two hours later closing at 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. metro rail and buses are running on a regular weekend schedule. the march rain will operate the penn and brunswick lines on an s schedule. there will be no service on the camden line. the virginia railway express is running on a holiday schedule. a chilly start to the morning as you head out the door. storm team 4 meteorologist

veronica johnson is here with us. to tell us about your new year's eve forecast. how everything is shaping up. >> that's right. richard and erika, it's a coat, gloves, hat kind of morning. one of the coldest starts we've had this winter. at 30 degrees right now. the windchill reading at 22 degrees. the air dry. allowing that temperature to really fall off during the overnight period. oakton right now coming in at 2 degrees. ar warrenton at 21. 30 in d.c. around capital heights. while we have dry conditions right now, we're talking about the possibility of sprinkles that could be around the area around midnight. you can see the system making its way eastward into western kentucky and tennessee now. snow to the north. rain to the south of that system. as far as what we're going to see around here, i think just a sprinkle for today. then we've got a sprinkle or flurry chance for tomorrow. 9:00 a.m. today, it's cold. hit 33 degrees. by noon, more clouds. more high clouds will be moving

in. the temperature 42. by 5:00, we'll be at 43 after maxing out the 46 degrees today. a sprinkle chance even around the stroke of midnight. alexis, let's see what's going on on the roads now. >> thank you, veronica. we have more information on this accident northbound 28. one person has been confirmed killed in this accident involving a tractor-trailer. that is northbound 28 at sully road there. three right lanes are blocked. you can get by to the left. here's a live look at the vdot cameras. traffic is backing up there and moving to the left only. taking a look elsewhere on the roads. 66 eastbound is looking good as you travel in from manassas and further east. looking at fairfax county parkway with the travel speed of 12 minutes from the parkway to the beltway. richard? >> alexis, thank you. less than 24 hours now to avert the fiscal cliff. aide say lawmakers are working around the clock behind closed doors to broker a deal with several options on the table.

republicans reached out to vice president biden for help with negotiations. meantime, president obama sais he's still cautiously optimistic. nbc's danielle lee is live on capitol hill with the latest. good morning, danielle. >> richard, good morning. the senate will get back to work on this very issue at 11:00 a.m. today. twh they do, they will not have a lot of time to avoid the massive spending cuts and tax increases. democratic leader harry reid says they hope to have an announcement. but at this time, lawmakers say they are still looking at a significant divide, specifically on at what point, what salary should taxes increase. aides say lawmakers did make significant progress over the weekend, specifically on the issue of tax increases for the very wealthiest americans and avoiding the inheritance tax increase and republicans gave up on their demand for social security, cuts to social security to be a part of this deal. democrats have accused republicans of being too stubborn on the issue of tax

increases. >> they say their biggest priority is making sure we deal with the deficit in a serious way. the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest americans are protected. >> now, yesterday it was republicans who accused democrats of failing to give them a counteroffer even if they get a deal later today, this fight is not going to be over for long. republicans are likely to push for the same reforms they gave up on this time around early in the new year when the debt limit debate kicks off. reporting live in washington, danielle lee. richard, back to you. >> thank you. if nothing else, it looks like there will be a deal to keep the price of milk from skyrocketing. both parties agreed to a one year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in october. the deal will avert a spike in milk prices to as much as $8 a gallon. the plan still has to be put to a vote in the house and senate sometime today. this is going to be a big night for same sex couples in maryland. at the stroke of midnight, it

will be legal for them to wed tanned in some cases, they'll do it right away. they'll marry as soon as the new year begins. some couples plan to tie the knot, in fact at least one couple plans to say i do at 12:01. the redskins are in the playoffs. everybody was saying that was going to happen as soon as rg3 came on to the team. they beat their biggest rival, the dallas cowboys, 28-18 last night to clinch the nfc east. but rookie alfred morris was the star last night. he rushed for 200 yards, three touchdowns in the win. the 'skins take on the seahawks next sunday at fedex field. kickoff at 4:30 in the afternoon. many redskins fans still can't believe their team is in the playoffs, especially after starting 3-. megan mcgrath is talking to fans in green belt this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.

it was a daunting task. redskins had to win seven in a row. that's what they did clinching the nfc east title. the first time since 1999. now, making this victory all the sweeter is the fact that it came over arch-rival dallas. a lot of fans very, very happy about that. now, we've been here in green belt talking to folks, talking to fans who stayed up o watch that game and as you would imagine, they are over the moon and nothing but good things to say about their team and what the future holds. >> it was a fantastic game last night. morris did his thing. rg3 did his thing. i'm just really excited. i hope that they do go and hail redskins. >> what did you think of that game? >> i loved it. i loved the outcome of it. i hope they go all the way. >> and we're hearing nothing but but praise for rg3 and alfred morris, the rookies who helped

make it happen. the redskins take on the seahawks next sunday at fedex field. reporting live in green belt, megan mcgrath, news 4. back to you in the studio. >> megan, thanks. you can be sure that many 'skins fans will be at their computers at noon today when tickets go on sale to the general public. cheapest seats are a little more than $58 including fees. the most expensive tickets are about $485 if you feel like shelling out some cash. we also checked stub hub for you and found seats on sale. the cheapest tickets, were $132. just a reminder, next sunday's kickoff is set for 4:30. >> some people are willing to pay anything to see them. >> it's going to be an amazing game. they are a great team. the seahawks are phenomenal too. >> the redskins are. >> absolutely. it's going to be a hot, hot game. 5:37 is the time. putting speed cameras under the microscope. why maryland lawmakers may be ready to make some changes. plus, who says it's cold? the people not letting winter

weather keep them from enjoying a swim. >> want to try that this we're? >> no thanks. chilly start to the morning as you get ready to

bone chilling temperatures could not scare away people in kazakhstan.

a handful of divers took a dip this these icy holes wearing only swimsuits. they didn't stay in for too long. the group believes dipping into the icy waters is a way to become healthier and be one with nature. well, then i would rather be not one with nature. i'd rather be far from mother nature. >> you can tell by the look a on that lady's face. >> look at that. no, no, no. i don't think you could pay me enough to do that. how many of those people catch pneumonia or something afterwards. >> it's not worth it. >> no. but we'll have really cold temperatures these next couple of days. >> let's see how cold it will get. meteorologi meteorologist veronica johnson with with us. >> it's plenty cold. starting out subfreezing. look at the satellite and radar. petersburg and western maryland, today, we'll be in and out of the clouds and see more clouds move in for the afternoon and evening hours.

temperature right now, 38 degrees. gaithersburg. 29 degrees rockville. you folks in waldorf maryland at 27. look at your hometown forecast. pretty much indicative of what the area is going to see. more clouds will be moving in. we'll hit a high today of 45 degrees. then as we get into the evening, not bad. even at midnight, temperature there 39 degrees at midnight. that's pretty good alexis. >> it is, veronica. >> tracking breaking news on the roadway. we do have a fatal accident northbound 28 involving a tractor-trailer. we have three right lanes blocked there on sully road getting by to the left as you can see in this live look at the vdot cameras. elsewhere, looking good on the dulles toll road. eastbound travelers at speed. 52 miles per hour as you head into the beltway. and taking a live look at the interchange there, the inner loop of the beltway, 13-minute ride. erika, richard. >> alexis, thank you. 32 degrees at 5:42.

still to come, why you have to act quick if you want to catch a glimpse of american history. >> plus, not holding back. one redskins over the top celebration after the team landed

a community is remembering a 19-year-old football player murdered in fairfax county. dozens gathered for a vigil. he played as a sophomore on their team too. string fellow was found stabbed to death in vienna friday night. his girlfriend is trying to cope with the loss. >> xavier was a great kid. leaves a hole in our hearts. all of us here. we've lost someone who has made a huge impact. very important to the

battlefield family and he'll be greatly missed. >> police arrested this man from gainesville. the two did not know each other but arranged a meeting. no word on a motive in the case. police need your help finding this man. diego mendoza of culpeper is accused of rear ending another car in fauquier county last sunday. police say mendoza hit a scion forcing it off the road. this man died in the crash. mendoza ran from the scene. if you know where he is, call police. d.c. detectives are asking for your help this morning to find the person who shot and killed a man in southeast. the shooting happened early yesterday morning. investigators found 23-year-old angelo payne lying on the ground with several gunshot wounds. he died on the scene. police are offering a $25,000 reward for information that helps solve this crime.

we now know the name of the woman killed in a town house fire in green belt. prince george's county officials say 86-year-old betty starry died in the friday night fire. two others were injured trying to escape. investigators say the fire broke out inside a town home on laurel hill road. they are still trying to figure out what caused it. new revelations this morning about the former maryland delegate removed from office for misspending campaign funds. the washington post is reporting that fif any alston filed for bankruptcy seven months before trying to use campaign money to pay for her wedding. that she charged tens of thousands of dollars to a law firm run by a former colleague. a jury found the democrat guilty of in misdemeanor theft in june for paying a law firm employee $800 in state money. some virginia lawmakers will apparently have plenty of support if they want to change how uva's board members are chosen. according to a survey, a percentage favor changing the

laws that dictate how board members are picked. david toscano is preparing legislation to make the changes. he wants to bolster the committee that vets proposed -- dealing with a nursing shortage. the school system tells the washington post there's no permanent full-time nurse assigned to 10% of the county's school. the district is considering whether to hire nurses' aides in place of registered nurses. the school system hired about 20 nurses in the past three months. the national archives is commemorating the 150th anniversary of one of the country's most important documents. the emancipation proclamation went on display yesterday at the archives. president lincoln issued it during the civil war. historians consider the proclamation a steppingstone to ratification of the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery. visitors lined up for a rare glimpse of the original

document. >> amazing to see abraham lincoln's signature. >> very uplifting experience. it's a very important document. >> the proclamation will be on display until tomorrow. officials say the document is only available for public view several days each year because of its fragile condition. if you live in maryland, you only have a few hours left to fill out paperwork for the homestead property tax credit. today is the deadline to apply for or retain the credit which ensures the property taxes that homeowners pay doesn't skyrocket even as their property values increase. the credit has been applied automatically in the past but you must apply for it now. you'll find everything you need to know on the maryland department of assessments and taxation website. the address is dat .sta dat .statdat .state dat .state .md.us. the residents in somerset county will be eligible for food stamps.

it's part of an aid program helping victims of natural disasters. victims will receive one month of benefit. they must live in a disaster area and be affected by the disaster itself in order to qualify. residents can apply for the benefits from january 7th through the 13th. strong winds brought down a huge tree in bethesda. this is along split oak drive. how appropriate is that. yes, that's the real name of the street. the damage could have been much worse. the poplar managed to miss both homes only bringing down part of a fence but no one was hurt. >> so incredibly windy yesterday. >> yeah. >> i still saw loads of people jogging. >> burning the holiday calories. >> i'm like how do you do that? >> you don't stop. >> you go the flow of the wind, maybe it will help push you along. >> exactly. just don't go back home, right? >> exactly. >> yesterday, we hit a high of 42 degrees. but it was gusty. it really didn't feel like that 42. today, we're going to get into

the mid 40s. it's looking like the warmest, mildest day out of the workweek. it's downhill after that of the we've got cloud cover out there this morning. take a look at the satellite and radar review. take you back to yesterday where it was, again, fairly clear around the area. we've seen more high clouds push into our area. partly cloudy sky right now. then you got this little hole over in western maryland. so today we're going to see that. some filtered sunshine with high clouds. more clouds will be moving in as the weak weather system moves towards us for the afternoon and evening hours. current temperature, 30 degrees reagan national. 22 degrees. that windchill temperature. we're seeing windchills throughout the area in the low 20s this morning. so today, again, turning mostly cloudy by late with the high clouds. that weather system, not producing much precipitation at all with the whole event. for later today and throughout the day tomorrow. it's tomorrow that we do have our highest chance of picking up

maybe sprinkles, maybe a flurry in the morning. it's a sprinkle chance too, around 10:00, 11:00 p.m. this evening, even midnight. there may be flurries in the maryland/pennsylvania border for tomorrow morning. and some more sprinkles coming through during the afternoon. after that, it's the cold air from up north. it starts funneling in for your wednesday. your thursday, your friday. highs just in the 30s. some of the coldest air of the season moving in. sunrise today at 7:27. 28 to 34 for a morning temperature. by afternoon, at 41 to 46 degrees. a look at your four-day forecast here. you can see that after tomorrow, there's that cold. tomorrow just a 50% chance of a sprinkle or flurry. by friday, the high 39. upcoming weekend not bad in the low to mid 40s. a look at first 4 traffic now. thank you, veronica. tracking breaking news on the roadway. we have a fatal accident northbound 2 involving a tractor-trailer. we have three right lanes blocked. you're getting by to the left. as you can see from this live

look at the vdot cameras. traveling elsewhere on the road, 2 270 is looking good both directions. no incidents to report. live video here. the southbound lanes on the right. traveling on 395, incident-free as well. a 12-minute drive time to the 14th street bridge. erika. thank you very much. get ready to pay more on the dulles toll road. rates go up 50 cents at midnight. the rate hike is going to help pay for the silver line. if you take the toll road each day to work, you wind up paying $260 additional a year. rates will jump another 75 cents to $3.50 next year. changes could be on the way for maryland's speed camera law. lawmakers plan to look closely at the law during the general assembly. they expect to tweak the state law allowing governments to install the cameras. this comes as baltimore speed

camera program comes under intense scrutiny. it's cameras have been issuing tickets to cars that are not speeding, including one stopped at a red light. you may want to bring in the new year with a new car. half a million more people will end their carlese agreements in 2013 than in 2012. that means many more used cars will hit the market making prices go down by a few dollars. analysts also see 2013 as the year of the truck. i don't really see too man of those here. big in texas, not here. they see an increase in home construction, which, in turn, could mean an increase in truck sales as well. a number of banks are prepared to put -- hampton pearson live with that story and more. good morning, hampton. >> how are you, richard? >> as a matter of fact, yes. several big banks reportedly close to eye $10 billion settlement with regulators to end the efforts for bad foreclosure practices.

according to "the new york times," 40% of the settlement would go to people who already lost their home. five banks agreed to a $25 billion settlement. the times says 14 are involved in this round of talks. as part of the deal, which could come this week, the banks will have to hire independent consultants to go through those loan records. meanwhile, the tribune company is set to emerge from bankruptcy today, four years after the media giant filed for chapter 1 11. tribune will have a profitable portfolio of assets, including eight major newspapers, 23 televisions stations, including channel 50 in d.c. the company has a new board including ross levinson who ran yahoo for a few months before marissa mire was hired. thank you very much, hampton. good to see you. happy new year. no doubt about it, it's

perfectly fine to be excited. >> some fans may have taken excitement a little too far. >> are you serious? this guy decided last night was the best time to dispose of his christmas tree. he didn't take it out to the woods. he jumped on it as part of his redskins celebration. imagine what he would do if the burgundy and gold won the super bowl. >> stay clear. stay away from him. >> i would imagine he's got pieces of ornament stuck in his arms and stuff. >> or the sap from the tree. >> maybe only -- i don't know if it was fresh or not. still, what a way to celebrate. >> coming up at 6:00. hear from the red skin who ran into the record books during the team's victory. plus, we're hours from going over the fiscal cliff. who is being called on to try to bridge the gap between lawmakers. >> we are waking up to a chilly start on this last day of 2012. we'll find out what 2013 has in store. stick around. news 4 at 6:00 starts right after the break.

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it's about getting fios. that moment after you finally got it that you actually get it. when you see the difference 100% fiber optics makes, and you say "woah we are not on cable anymore." when online videos aren't herky jerky, you get it. or when a movie downloads in two minutes, you get it. last chance to get fios for just $79.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. plus $300 back. go to got2getfios.com today call the verizon center for customers with disabilities for america's fastest, most reliable internet. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. verizon fios. redskins nation is smiling this morning from ear to ear. good morning everyone. i'm richard